ATT: Venture trailer owners

[242AB]

I am posting a few pictures of what I consider to be a major design flaw that other Venture trailer owners should be aware about.

The front "V" bunk is made as two separate pieces, with a joint in the middle where all of the vertical pressure of the keel sits while the boat is loaded. It also has all of the horizontal pressure of the keel when loading or launching the boat. If this were not bad enough, they are each attached with only two 5/16" hex head coarse threaded "zip" screws. The bunks taper to a half inch where they butt together and are the exact same width as the cross-member that they are attached to. If there is any wear here, your keel will be guided by a SHARP 90 degree piece of aluminum. If one of the tiny screws pull out or fail like mine did, the results will be significant keel damage.

My boat is brand new with 16 hours on it. The trailer is also brand new. It has eight launches and loads on it and the screw closest to the "V" on the port side broke while I was loading the boat yesterday. By the time I felt something was wrong, it was too late. I pulled the boat leaving it about 2' short of the winch roller. This prevented further damage to the keel. I was able to knock the "V" bunk back into place and secure the boat for the ride home.

The pictures show the damage, and the port side bunk starting to rotate forward. This was just from the ride home. When I pulled the boat, it was nearly parallel to the keel.. I also am posting a picture of the tiny bolt that is supposed to withstand all of that pressure. I noticed some minor gel-coat damage the last time I loaded the boat. I even posted a question last week about it. I thought it was from hitting a cross-member on a steep ramp, but now I am convinced that the "V" bunk had already started to give way enough to do some damage

Before I get some bashers here, the boat is new; however, this is my fourth boat. I am an experienced boater of 18 years. All of which have been trailered boats. I fish around 30 days a year, so that would equate to more than 500 trips to the ramp. I've gotten pretty good at it, and I have seen a lot, but never a failure from such a poorly thought out design.

[242AB]

I don't seem to have the "Attach a file after posting" box anymore, so I can't post the pics. I'd like to get them up here if someone could help.

[Bruce W]

Post this in the "Boating & Outdoor Photos" and you'll see an "Attach Photo" button at the bottom - "check" the box and it will allow you to post them.

Regards,

[Bruce W]

Post this in the "Boating & Outdoor Photos" and you'll see an "Attach Photo" button at the bottom - "check" the box and it will allow you to post them.

OR, upload the pics into an "ALBUM" (upper right button) and post them from there in ANY forum.

Maybe do the latter and put them in this SAME thread.

Regards,

[242AB]

Thanks Bruce! Here's the link to the pictures. It seems like you have to click on them to see the photos, but they're there. http://www.thehulltruth.com/forums/t...203747&posts=1

[waterat]

I would be pi$$ed too.. No reason for such slack construction. Occassionally I deliver trailers for another mfg. I know how they are built and have never had a problem. I have been using them for over 50 years and know the mfger will make any such problems right. Waterat

[rwidman]

Well, my Venture trailer is not built like that and I've had no problems withit but I've got to wonder why you are posting your story and pictures here instead of contacting Venture?

http://www.venturetrailers.com/contact.html

[242AB]

Rwidman- Look at the thread tile. I'm not bashing Venture if that's what you're suggesting. I'm simply trying to inform other boaters and possibly save them a lot of money and time on the water. Where the pictures are posted, I've even stated that it trailers well.

The reason for my post is to WARN people of this flaw. See, when you share your experiences with others, we all can LEARN from these experiences. Isn't that a big part of this site? If your trailer had this style bunk and your keel looked like mine, you might understand. It's nice to know that yours is different. I'm sure others that have this style bunk would like to know and see what could happen to their boat. Call it the way you see it, but in my opinion it is a flaw. The trailer is a tandem rated for over 6000lbs. and the front bunk is way too weak for this setup. I never would have guessed that the bunk was two pieces. I also would have never guessed that they were attached so poorly. I have contacted my dealer to go through the PROPER protocol instead of calling Venture direct. I will post what they tell me.

Considering the damage, I think my posts have been very conservative and good natured.

[ldavis1850]

242AB the same thing happened on my 08 VATB6000 alot less damage thank god.